Australia v Dominican Republic

Having already clinched a top spot in the second round of the World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic still put forth a full effort on Friday in its 6-4 win over Australia in the final game of the 'Pool D' version at the Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney

Now it's off to San Juan, where the Dominicans will play the Puerto Rico club in Round 2
Cuba and Venezuela will also meet in San Juan, at Hiram Bithorn Stadium

Before another sellout crowd of 11,083, the Dominican offense handled Australia starter Damian Moss quite handily, tagging him for four runs in the first three frames
They scored three in the second, behind a two-run double by Alberto Castillo and a bases-loaded walk issued to Albert Pujols
Wily Mo Pena drove in the Dominicans' fourth run with a base hit off Moss in the third

The ever-popular Luis Polonia singled home Willy Taveras in the sixth, giving the Dominicans a four-run advantage
Polonia, a hero in the Dominican who has won multiple championships in both the Winter and Major Leagues, received a warm ovation
"I am very happy to have had this opportunity" Polonia said
"I am very aware that to an old ballplayer like me that not often do we get this kind of opportunity
And after my first at-bat, I felt very well
With the two hits that I hit today, I am getting more confidence, and I think this has been one of the highlights of my career"
Polonia hit for David Ortiz in the fourth frame and remained in the game as the designated hitter

It was Manager Manny Acta's plan to play Ortiz and Albert Pujols for only a portion of the game
Pujols went 1-for-2
"That was the plan for the day, to give David a couple of at-bats and Pujols to play six innings" Acta said
"We know that there are a lot of these people who are showing up at these games to see those two guys
We didn't want to just give them the day off completely"

As was the case in the first two games, the Dominican pitching was superb
Daniel Cabrera allowed one run on three hits over 3-1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two
"I think that was pretty impressive" Acta said
"I've only seen him on TV and in winter ball before
And it was pretty impressive that that kid went out there and didn't throw a ball, I believe, below 94 miles per hour
And he had a pretty good slider, almost 90 miles per hour slider
Just good command, too, for his age (24)
I think his upside is tremendous
I think the Orioles have a jewel there
Hopefully, he stays away from injuries
I see him being a potential Cy Young winner in the big leagues"

Francisco Liriano struck out six in his 2-2/3 innings of relief
Acta isn't sure how he'll use the left-hander in the next round, but starting could be an option
"He'll definitely have a large role for us" Acta said
"The kid has shown that he's not intimidated at all
He's got terrific stuff
I think he can go against any lineup in this tournament"

Competition in the World Baseball Classic is about to step up a notch, now that the pool of teams remaining has been whittled to eight
Plenty of Major League stars will be on display from here on out

"We saw some outstanding pitching" said Australia manager Jon Deeble, whose team went 0-3 in Round 1
"Pitching's probably going to win this tournament this early in the season
Venezuela and the Dominican are two All-Star teams as far as I'm concerned
Between those two teams and the USA, it's going to be pretty tough"

After they were embarrassed in a mercy-rule-shortened game to open the World Baseball Classic, Australia's manager Jon Deeble indicated that it wasn't a performance that was indicative of his team's capabilities
Rebounding from the opening-game shutout loss delivered by Italy, the Australians proved this with respectable performances against much stronger competition provided by Venezuela and the Dominican Republic

There were no wins to show for the effort provided by the Australians in the inaugural WBC, but they can certainly go home proud of the way their pitchers performed against the powerful Latin nations

"I think we got respect and credibility," Deeble said, after his team ended 'Pool D' play on Friday night at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex with a 6-4 loss to the powerful Dominicans

With the victory, the Dominicans finished Pool play with a perfect 3-0 record, and along with Venezuela (2-1), earned themselves a spot in the second round

As for the Australians (0-3), they go back home hoping to find that they sparked even more baseball interest in their country

Although Australia won a Silver Medal in the 2004 Olympics, first baseman Justin Huber says that baseball is considered a third-tier sport in his native land
Despite the fact that he was the Most Valuable Player in last summer's Futures Game, Huber says "most of his mates have never seen him play"
"I think with the last two games that we've played, I think you can see there is some legitimate talent in our country" Huber said
"I'm very proud of what we've done, and I think we've achieved our goal of getting some credit"

Australia's 2-0 loss to Venezuela on Thursday night proved that its 10-0 setback to Italy was somewhat of a fluke
Ending with a two-run setback to the Dominicans only solidified that belief

"I think that the last two games against Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, that's Australian baseball to a T" Australian starter Damian Moss said
"We're going to go
We're going to fight, and we're not going to give up until the last out"

The Australians kept things interesting until the end against the Dominicans, loading the bases with nobody out in the ninth
After Luke Hughes grounded into a double play, Trent Durrington delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to two
But Dominican reliever Damaso Marte entered, and ended things by getting Glenn Williams to hit a lazy infield pop fly into foul territory

"We've got a chance to compete in the WBC down the track" Deeble said
"I think we showed that tonight"

Moss, who was looking to impress a number of Major League scouts in attendance, jokingly told one of the ground crew earlier this week that he wouldn't mind them keeping the protective batting practice screen in front of the mound for his outing against the Dominicans

But it wasn't exactly the power of Albert Pujols or David Ortiz that quelled Moss
Instead, it was the southpaw's own inability to consistently find the strike zone
He threw just 35 of his 65 pitches for strikes and lasted just 2-2/3 innings
In the process, he was charged with four earned runs, issued four walks and registered just one strikeout
"I was satisfied with what I did when I went out there today" Moss said
"That's the second time I've faced hitters in about six months
So to go out there, and face a lineup like that - you know you want to face the best, so I was happy"

Moss' struggles prevented the Australians from taking advantage of the seven hits their offense produced against the Dominicans
While getting shut out in their first two games of the tournament, the Aussie bats registered a total of just two hits
Durrington, who had contributed one of those two hits, got things started auspiciously against the Dominicans by drawing a walk to begin the game
He stole second base, and two batters later, scored on a Brett Roneberg sacrifice fly

But the Aussies' only lead of the tournament was short-lived

Moss escaped the first inning unscathed by striking out David Ortiz

But during a 36-pitch second inning, he issued three walks and allowed the Dominicans to score three runs
The only extra-base hit he surrendered during the frame came when Alberto Castillo directed a two-run double past third base and into the left-field corner

Ortiz, who grounded out to end the second inning with the bases loaded, exited in the fourth inning
He was replaced by Luis Polonia, who had singles that led to a run in both the fourth and sixth innings

"I think this was great for Australian baseball" Deeble said
"Hopefully, we get invited back to the next WBC, in 2009, and hopefully we can, instead of losing by two, maybe we can win by two"

Wily Mo Pena went 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored to lead the Dominican Republic past Australia, 6-4, in 'Pool D' action at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex

Luis Polonia went 2-for-2 with a RBI and Ronnie Belliard doubled and scored twice for the Dominicans (3-0), who advanced to the second round of group play at the World Baseball Classic

Bradley Harman went 2-for-2 with a double and Trent Durrington and Gavin Fingleson had a hit and a run scored apiece for Australia (0-3)

Starting pitcher Damian Moss got lit up for four runs and four hits while walking four and striking out just one

Australia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after Brett Roneberg's sacrifice fly scored Durrington

The Dominicans, however, responded with three in the bottom of the second to take the lead
Alberto Castillo's two-run double scored both Miguel Tejada and Belliard for a 2-1 lead
Later in the inning, Albert Pujols worked a bases-loaded walk to score Pena to make it 3-1

The Dominicans upped their lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the third after Pena's single scored Belliard, who doubled earlier in the inning

Tejada's sacrifice fly in the fourth scored Pujols to give the Dominican Republic a 5-1 lead

Australia got a run in the top of the sixth after Brendan Kingman's single scored Fingleson to make it 5-2

But Luis Polonia's single in the bottom of the sixth scored Willy Taveras to give the Dominicans a 6-2 lead

Australia made things interesting in the top of the ninth after Luke Hughes' double-play ball scored Paul Rutgers to make it 6-3
Durrington followed with a single that scored Rodney Van Buizen to make it 6-4
But Damaso Marte came in and got Glenn Williams to pop out to Belliard to seal the win for the Dominicans

The Dominican Republic tuned up for the second round of the World Baseball Classic by defeating Australia 6-4 on Friday

The Dominicans, unbeaten in three opening-round games in the 16-team tournament, are considered one of the favorites to walk away with the title

Venezuela and the Dominican Republic advanced from the four-team 'Pool D' competition and will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the next round beginning Sunday

Australia (0-3), who had managed a total of two hits and no runs in their two previous WBC games, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Brett Roneberg

But the Dominicans countered with three runs in the second inning on a two-run double to left field by Alberto Castillo and a bases-loaded walk to Albert Pujols

An inning later, the Dominican Republic stretched their lead to 4-1 when Wily Mo Pena drilled a single to left, scoring Ronnie Belliard from third

In the fourth, Miguel Tejada's sacrifice fly scored Pujols from third to stretch the lead to 5-1

In the sixth, an RBI single by Australia's Brendan Kingman trimmed the lead to 5-2 but Luis Polonia's run-scoring single in the bottom half of the inning gave the Dominicans a 6-2 lead

Two runs by Australia in the top of the ninth on a run-scoring double-play and an RBI single by Trent Durrington cut the lead to 6-4 but reliever Damaso Marte was brought in and he forced pinch-hitter Glenn Williams into a game-ending pop-up

Dominican Republic starter Daniel Cabrera, a right-hander with the Baltimore Orioles, got the win after giving up one run and two hits in 3-1/3 innings of work

Damian Moss took the loss for Australia, giving up four hits and four runs in 2-2/3 innings but falling victim to some shoddy fielding by his team mates

Australia, however, was respectable at the plate, finishing with four runs and seven hits against the powerful Dominicans

Three strikes and out, but Australia at least went down swinging as it bid farewell to the World Baseball Classic in Orlando, Florida
The Olympic Silver Medallists ended their involvement in the landmark tournament with a credible 6-4 loss to world powerhouse the Dominican Republic

After being left red-faced from Wednesday's opening 10-0 loss to Italy's team of American-born stars, Australia backed up Friday's respectable 2-0 defeat to Venezuela with another strong performance against the Dominicans, along with the United States, one of the main title contenders in the inaugural Classic

"I think with the last two games that we've played, I think you can see there is some legitimate talent in our country" first baseman Justin Huber, one of a handful of players in Australia's squad with Major League experience, told reporters
"I'm very proud of what we've done, and I think we've achieved our goal of getting some credit"

Australia (0-3) bows out of the international tournament - the first of its kind to feature the world's best professional players from the US Major League - as the bottom team in 'Group D'
Dominican Republic (3-0) and Venezuela (2-1) both progress to the second round as expected, with Italy (1-2) joining Australia through the exit door

Not that Australia left quietly

Playing a Dominican side bursting with All Stars and a reported payroll close to $400 million, Australia's team of promising minor league talent and a sprinkling of Major League experience pushed their highly fancied opponents all the way to their last breath in Orlando

After collecting just two hits and no runs in its first two outings, Australia finished with four runs off seven hits

Australia even took a surprising 1-0 lead in the first inning with Cairns product Brett Roneberg, who has spent 10 years in the minor leagues, driving in Australia's opening run of the tournament with a sacrifice fly to bring home Trent Durrington

The Dominicans countered with three runs in the second inning courtesy of a two-run double by Alberto Castillo and a bases-loaded walk to Albert Pujols

Single runs in the third and fourth stretched that advantage to 5-1, before an RBI single by Australian third base Brendan Kingman trimmed the lead to 5-2 in the top of the sixth

Trailing 6-2 in the ninth, Australia mounted a last-ditch rally, cutting the deficit to two after a run-scoring double-play and an RBI single by new Boston Red Sox recruit Durrington
But Dominican reliever Damaso Marte cut short Australia's late charge by forcing Glenn Williams to hit a game-ending pop-up fly

"We've got a chance to compete in the Classic down the track, I think we showed that tonight" Australian coach Jon Deeble told reporters
"I think this was great for Australian baseball
Hopefully, we get invited back to the next tournament in 2009, and hopefully we can, instead of losing by two, maybe we can win by two"

Damian Moss started on the mound for Australia, giving up four hits and four runs in 2-2/3 innings

On the last day of the first round of the World Baseball Classic, the Dominican Republic did something no other team in this tournament had done
It allowed the feeble Australians to score
It first happened Friday night at The Ballpark at Disney in the first inning when Aussie DH Brett Roneberg hit a high sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Trent Durrington
Finally, Australia's 16-inning scoreless streak was over

The powerful Dominicans still won 6-4 and finished play in 'Pool D' a perfect 3-0

In the standings, it was a meaningless game
The Dominican Republic and Venezuela won spots in the second round with wins Thursday

But it was the third consecutive game in which the Dominican pitching staff was less than spectacular
Against Venezuela on Tuesday, the Dominicans allowed 10 hits and five runs
Against Italy, they gave up three runs and five hits
Australia on Friday put up team highs in hits (seven) and runs against the Dominicans

Venezuela Manager Manny Acta seemed less than concerned with his staff
"We're in good shape" he said

But on a team that includes major-league sluggers Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada and Adrian Beltre, the lack of comparable pitching firepower is noticeable
The ace is Bartolo Colon, who went 21-8 with a 3.28 ERA last season with the Los Angeles Angels
Aside from Colon, the Angels' Earvin Santana and Atlanta Braves' Jorge Sosa are the only others on staff who had winning records in the majors last season

Compare that to the Venezuelan staff, which features Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, Freddy Garcia, Gustavo Chacin and Carlos Silva, all of whom had winning records as starters last year

The American pitching staff, with Roger Clemens, Jake Peavy, Dontrelle Willis, Brad Lidge and Billy Wagner, is also stronger and deeper than the Dominican staff

Venezuelan pitching coach Bill Castro said he'd take his guys over any other team

The Dominicans, of course, suffered bad luck when Pedro Martinez announced a little more than a week ago that he wouldn't be pitching in the Classic because of a sore toe
Dominican jerseys with "Martinez" and "45" on the back hang in the shops around The Ballpark at Disney but that's the dominant right-hander's only presence here
"He would have made us a lot better" Castro said

So far, the lack of arms hasn't been a problem for the Dominicans
In the first round, their bats have been lively
In the second round, though, they'll face tougher teams - Puerto Rico, Cuba and, for the second time, Venezuela
Their offense might not be able to carry them

Still, Castro said, "Our guys are capable"

"Flintoff's Focus"
While there is a natural tendency to take the "maximum spin" from a result like this that, to be sure, looks a tremendous one on paper, you'll never find this writer attempting to screen or ignore the truth
YEP, it was a great effort by our AROOS on the day, but to be absolutely honest it did come on a day when our star studded rivals were in a very "loose" and low-key mood with players in their dugout appearing more interested in joining their boisterous fans in the festivities than playing a game of baseball against their little known opponents
They would always be able to find enough to beat Australia - surely? - and in the end they surely did - if there was any scare in their camp, then it wasn't evident on the television broadcast
The undeniable fact of the matter is that the mighty Dominican Republic had already won their biggest battles against Venezuela and Italy and they had already secured their passage into the next round - on this basis they could be excused for lacking a little intensity and for managing their bench players into the action before the serious stuff starts
There were plenty of positives for the Australian team at this tournament, especially given the quality of the opposition, but there was also clear evidence of how far we need to go to fight toe to toe with baseball's real heavyweights
Some of our pitching in this game was outstanding and this will be the undoubted highlight of the event for us!
Why do I get the overwhelming feeling from the commentary at the World Baseball Classic that most of the "local" baseball fans at the event are glad to see the end of the first round pool matches (and teams like Australia) so that the SERIOUS stuff can start?
It was nice to be there I suppose, but I'm not sure that the respect we crave was quite forthcoming or quite genuine when it was offered?

Dominican Republic, considered by many as the team to beat in the World Baseball Classic, survived its biggest scare of the tournament to defeat Australia last night

Australia finally succumbed 6-4, but not before bringing the tieing run to the plate and forcing the Dominican Republic to go to the bullpen for the fifth time

Few could imagine this was the same team that surrendered so meekly against Italy in the opening game of the World Baseball Classic
But, Australia produced its signature fighting spirit to rebound against two of the world’s baseball powerhouses, Venezuela and Dominican Republic

Damian Moss, saddled with a luckless loss against the Dominicans, best summed up the turn around
Moss said the Australian team was all over the place against Italy , but responded in customary fashion
“You got some young guns on our team versus Venezuela and Dominican Republic, where they’re veterans and All Stars” Moss said
“And, I’m sure there was a lot of nerves, and that probably played a little bit of a part as far as Italy was concerned
But, I think that the two games against Venezuela and Dominican Republic, that is Australian baseball to a T
We’re going to go, we’re going to fight and we’re not going to give up until the last out”

And, that’s exactly what Australia did as it mounted a two-run ninth inning rally to press the Dominicans

It was easily the best all round performance by the team

And, it was against a backdrop of a chanting, cheering, drum banging, horn blowing passionate Dominican fans
In fact, there was 11,083 fans, the largest attendance of 'Pool D', on hand to watch an engrossing David versus Goliath battle

Australia broke out of its hitting funk to post a number of offensive firsts for the World Baseball Classic

Not only did it post its first runs of the World Baseball Classic, but racked up seven hits, one shy of the Dominicans

Trent Durrington, elevated to lead-off hitter, sparked the team right out of the boxes with a lead-off walk and a stolen base
Durrington moved to third on Gavin Fingleson’s single and scored on Brett Roneberg’s sacrifice fly

It snapped Australia ’s unwanted 16 scoreless inning streak during the World Baseball Classic and when Moss struck out the Big Pappy, David Ortiz to end the first inning, Australia had its first lead of the tournament

Regrettably, it proved short-lived as the Dominican took advantage of some ‘lady luck’ in the second as Moss had to make five ‘outs’ before finally getting out of the inning
First, Moss had to endure watching a towering fly ball from Miguel Tejada drop between converging short stop Brad Harman and left fielder Gavin Fingleson
Next, Tejada took advantage of an errant pick up from Moss to move to second and took third when Wily Mo Pena’s little infield dribbler somehow stayed fair along the third baseline
Dominican Republic catcher Alberto Castillo seized the opportunity when he spanked a two-run double and, three batters latter, Albert Pujols walked in a run to give his team a 3-1 lead

An RBI single from Pena in the third and a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Tejada in the fourth pushed the Dominicans lead to 5-1 and, for some, the alarm bells were becoming audible

Brad Harman, the youngest member of the team, continued his outstanding World Baseball Classic when he singled and doubled from his only two at bats
Harman led the Australian average’s hitting .429

Wayne Lundgren and then Matt Gahan shut down any thoughts of the Dominicans rampaging away with a win as the pitched four innings of one hit, one run baseball
Both Lundgren and Gahan stood tall against some of the best hitters in the world
It was a most impressive display by both pitchers

With the Dominicans held in check, Australia added a run in the sixth on Brendan Kingman’s RBI single

Paul Rutgers ignited the Australian ninth inning rally with a lead-off single and followed-up with some heads-up base running to take third on an error by Tejada
When Andrew Graham walked to load the bases with none out, Australia loomed large
Luke Hughes hit what appeared to be a routine ground ball out, but the Dominican showed just what a brilliant team they are when they turned it into a double play
But, the Australians refused to surrender
Durrington came up with a clutch run-scoring single to reduce the gap to two runs
Manager Jon Deeble called up David Nilsson to pinch hit for Fingleson, but the Dominicans countered by calling left hander Damaso Marte from the pen
Deeble pinch hit Glenn Williams for Nilsson, but Marte induced him to pop up to end the threat and the game

While Australia left the World Baseball Classic without a win, Deeble praised the players for how they rallied from such a dreadful start
“We took the game right up to the Venezuelans and the Dominicans
They are both virtually All Star teams” Deeble said
“But we gave both of them a real battle
We can compete, we showed our pitching and defence is as good, but we have to get better offensively
It is something we have to work on so next time we come here we can win by two runs, not lose by two runs”